I know what you're thinking.

Here is where she lectures us about eating for heart health yet again.

Hang on.

Don't touch that remote.

What if I told you that there's more to heart health than kale?

Our emotional connections to what and how we eat help determine how our hearts feel day to day.

Life is short.

So let's live well and thrive.

I'll show you how, today on Christina Cooks, the Macroterranean Way.

Underwriting for Christina Cooks is provided by Suzanne's Specialties, offering a full line of alternative vegan and organic sweeteners and toppings.

Suzanne's Specialties, sweetness the way Mother Nature intended.

Jonathan's Spoons, individually handcrafted from cherry wood.

Each designed with your hand and purpose in mind.

Additional funding is also provided by.

Hi, I'm Christina Pirello and this is Christina Cooks, where each week we take fresh seasonal ingredients and whip them into amazing dishes.

Will they all be plant based?

Yeah.

Will they all be delicious?

Yeah.

Will they all be heart healthy?

Always.

So I know what you're thinking.

Here she goes.

Heart health.

Here we go again.

Don't do this.

Don't do that.

The leading killer of men and women since 1973.

All that's true.

But there's also emotions that go with eating heart healthy food, right?

Many people who are struggling with heart issues don't want to eat healthier food because they crave and love the spiciness, the textures, the variety.

So today we're going to make dishes that help us to overcome that craving, to appreciate healthy food in a different way.

Okay?

So we're going to start by making a risotto and take some extra virgin olive oil.

And, you know, when you when you have olive oil and you have it in a container like this, which is not only beautiful, but keeps the light away from the oil, they come with these little, these little, you know, clippy things that cover the top.

Don't break those off.

Leave it on there.

You might have to clean it because it sticks, but that keeps the air out of your olive oil.

Just so you know, just a little information for you.

So in here goes, some halved cloves of garlic so that we don't have an overwhelming garlic flavor.

And we're going to add to that some broccoli florets and our first pinch of salt.

So the broccoli can start cooking.

And now we'll add cauliflower, as well.

So that can start cooking.

We're going to put in there just a touch of water so that the broccoli can, cauliflower can start to almost steam while we prep the next veggie.

Okay.

Put your heat on high.

Remember, you don't heat olive oil, right?

You put your ingredients in, your first ingredients and then you start and then it'll start to simmer.

So this is fennel.

Fennel has a nice licorice flavor.

Not everyone loves it, but it's so good for digestion and so good for helping you to feel better.

Like one of the things about heart health is that you want to feel better and eating vegetables like fennel, even if you're not wild about the anise flavor, you'll get used to it, and it really sweetens when you cook it, is that it aids digestion.

And when digestion is easy, you feel easy.

So you really want to focus on foods that improve digestion so that emotionally you feel better about life.

And that's part of heart health.

Part of heart health is not sweating the small stuff.

And when you feel well, you don't sweat the small stuff, okay?

So now we're going to clean my cutting board.

You always clean your cutting board in between veg, especially when it leaves a bit of a mess.

Okay.

Add another pinch of salt.

You add a pinch of salt every time you're sauteeing veg so that each one maintains its character.

Cauliflower like cauliflower.

Broccoli like broccoli.

Fennel like fennel.

Right?

Okay.

The next thing that's going to go in are carrots.

These are just oblong carrot pieces.

They go in.

Now you're thinking, okay, so I'm never going to get the person I'm cooking for with a heart issue to eat a dish like this unless there's protein.

So this is a vegan sausage.

It doesn't look like sausage.

It doesn't really even have the texture of real sausage, but it's pure protein.

When you're buying one, make sure that it doesn't have a list of ingredients that reads like a Russian novel, and it will give you the protein that you crave and the texture that you want.

When you cook this, it will not feel really firm when you take it out of the package, but when you cook it, it firms up and takes on a texture that's very pleasing.

On top of that, we're adding some white beans.

It's very, very, very Italian to use beans and sausage together, beans and fish together, beans and meat together.

It's a very common thing.

And then to create our risotto texture, we're using some cooked brown rice.

One of the things that stress people out is cooking and doing everything from scratch and trying to make it work and struggling.

This is leftover cooked brown rice.

It's a great way to use up your leftovers.

So we'll add a final pinch of salt, a little bit of water.

Don't drown it.

We're not making soup.

We're making risotto.

And a little bit of water will help the rice to become creamier.

And then this gets covered and it just simmers for 5 minutes.

Okay.

So our risotto is nice and creamy, right?

You can see that there's no liquid left behind.

The broccoli's nice and bright green.

It's about as perfect as we're going to get.

So now we'll plate it up.

When I have a big amount of food, I use my spider a lot to take things out of a pan because I can get a big volume and not spend my day scooping.

I'm sure there's other tools that I could use, but I really love to use this.

And you just pile this into a bowl.

This is another great communal dish that you eat all together at the table.

It's very satisfying and comforting because the rice is creamy and the broccoli is loaded with anti-cancer compounds and heart healthy compounds.

The carrots are loaded with beta carotene.

The cauliflower is rich and delicious and loaded with fiber.

And all of these come together to help to create a dish that not only nourishes you, but nourishes you emotionally.

And now, it's off to one of the most heart healthy countries in the world to make pasta.

Welcome to Gragnano, the city of pasta, also the city of murals.

This is a famous Neapolitan actor, Antonio de Curtis, who is eating the pasta of Gragnano.

And now I'm off to Pasta Cuomo to cook with my friend Alfonso Cuomo.

Let's go.

(Speaking Italian) Two long years.

I'm so happy to see you again.

Everything will stop now.

We'll carry on.

We're back.

The flow's coming.

We're back.

Finally.

So this dish that we're making is called Pasta Ortolana, of the garden.

In America, we talk a lot about comfort food, something that makes you feel like family, yeah?

So this dish is perfect.

Yes.

Because they feel...

This is healthy and..

It's healthy.

So...We start to dice.

Dice and make several pieces of the eggplant.

And this is a, in America we call this Japanese eggplant.

Yes.

Because it's long and skinny.

It's a so benefit for the body.

In fact..lots of high fiber.

We use a lot, not all in the pasta, but also another kind of recipe..uh, typical (speaking Italian) Two or no?

No, it could be more yes.

Just to be when the, when the way that you can, you know, make a flavor of all different ingredients.

(Speaking Italian) Need to open fire first.

So you heat, you heat your olive oil before...

Yes, you put the olive oil inside.

And we cook the eggplant before we cook the pasta.

Yes, we soak before...

So it melts a little bit on..

While we cook oil and cook pasta will be ready and today we will cook pockery.

This is pockery, a big o, okay?

It's a big round... like a pipe...like a tube.

Yeah, a tube.

Exactly.

Because we see the pockery, because the pockery in Italian means love.

Okay.

When the pasta make a, you know, look around, there will be children in the pasta to pick up the pockery steal the pockery from outside.

Oh, come on.

Has come to love [inaudible] that is going around.

Yes, exactly.

I love that.

I love that.

Mama mia, that's so funny.

After the eggplants we think.

Yes, the... You know, we turn something.

Pepper next, pepperoni.

Yes, exactly.

We got several pieces of pepperoni as well.

And in this way, we make the spreads, the all flavor of eggplants in, the way that the the flavor can be mixed with the others, with the pepperoni and zucchini as well.

So peppers are also very, very good for the heart.

Very good for the heart.

I make sure when we cook red peppers, we cook it very well, so the skin is soft, so it's easy to digest.

So in this dish, when it cooks with the eggplant, it will kind of melt and become like very tender, but without the skin, the pepper would be too soft.

So this is perfect.

Importante that that all the flavors go, will drop down from each ingredients.

And you can see there's oil, but you see the juices from the vegetables are all forming because of the way it's diced and because of the way we're cooking it on a medium flame.

The peppers will taste like peppers, the eggplant like eggplant and the zucchini like the zucchini.

But at the same time, it will taste like one sort of harmonious dish, even though you taste all the flavors.

It's amazing because it's so simple.

It's just right now, it's olive oil.

That's it.

You need to feel the, the flame.

You can smell it already.

You can smell everything already.

So amazing.

So now we throw the salt for (Speaking Italian) Just a pinch, yes.

Just a tiny pinch of salt.

Okay.

And then throw inside and then we move our pockery that's made by Italian grain 100%.

And if you look at the pockery is so long because dependable pressure and the quantity of water.

Much more low.

Low water.

Because this is a secret that we think we got.

So pockery is a dryer dough.

Much more dry than other shape of pasta.

Okay.

Because we...

So it doesn't collapse?

Is not..the collapse, the collapse shouldn't happen because too low water.

Wow!

Of course.

So now we see the... See how this is changing.

It's changing.

And look at all of the..this is not oil, this is.. look how beautiful the, the vegetables have put their, their sauces in there.

Like it's made its own sauce.

So if now we take the plate, I show you that inside that if you look.. it's quite ready.

See how it's quite ready.

Quite ready.

So we remove from the boiling water, inside of the pans and then we add a little bit of water because we finish the cooking time on the sauce, on the vegetables that the center usually..

Yes, yes, exact.

Usually we add for our culture parmesan cheese.

But today we not do it because we don't want to celebrate this kind of ingredients for now.

But if there are other people...But people can, of course.

They can, they can, absolutely.

Look, now we can carry on and the mixing...turn now...we turn on the..

I love to watch you flip.

Yes, I flip again, and again, and again..Bravo.

Bravo, again, bravo, again, brav Oops!

Again.

And this is [inaudible] Look.

Wow.

Changing the flavor of macaroni that can be a little bit brown.

You can see it it's getting coated by all of the.. And also look.

It's staying open.

The pockery's coming up.

It's like bouncy.

Bounce, bounce.

In fact if you look don't leave they own geometrical shape.

They never lost it.

Never lost it.

It's still the same.

Yes, yes.

It's ready.

It's ready.

Yes, we can turn around and we stuff inside on the plates and we can call this to dry And basil.

Basil is perfumo, of course, but basil also helps to purify the blood.

Chef.

Share.

We share with you.

We share a plate.

Of pockery and we say, Buono, Pasta, Cuomo.

Ah, Bravo.

I'm here today with Dr. Rakesh Shah, a cardiologist in the Philadelphia area, and dear friend.

Rakesh, how are you?

I'm well.

How are you?

I'm well.

So today our entire episode is about, of course, heart health from the food standpoint.

But we're talking a lot about the emotions of heart health and how to keep your heart healthy from that perspective.

So I would like you to talk about the emotions of heart health.

Wow.

I know..a tiny subject in a short time.

Such a broad based topic.

Let's pick off one and maybe we'll get to some others.

Okay.

When we talk the pre-cardiac event.

Okay.

It's a lot of stressful..

So your lifestyle in general lifestyle.

Yes, lifestyle in general.

Patients come to me quite often saying, doc, I'm stressed.

Who doesn't have stress?

Right.

It's not about the stress, it's about managing the stress.

So some of the simple tricks that I give patients is pick up yoga, Tai chi... meditation, mindfulness.

Those are activities that are focused and centered on yourself rather than putting energy out into the world.

Anything and everything that we do, including this conversation, we're putting energy out every single moment of our day.

We're putting energy out.

Unless you're asleep.

Right.

Correct.

Right.

And how about we learn to channel it, channel it for ourselves, focus on ourselves.

And those three activities, in my opinion allow an individual to take time for themselves similar to exercise.

But even again, when you're exercising, you're putting energy out to help yourself.

Okay, so differentiate for me here.

A lot of times when you say take time for yourself, that's interpreted particularly by women, and I confess to being one of them, as being selfish.

So tell me where that sort of, because now everyone uses the word self-care.

Tell me where that falls in the perspective of being healthy as opposed to, so that women don't, particularly women, I'm sure men too.

But women are like, I can't.

That's being selfish.

I have this, this, this, this, this.

I actually advise my female patients especially, take me-time.

It is time that you are using to focus on yourself.

Great.

So, manage your stress.

Take a little bit of me-time to do that and you will create a healthier heart emotionally.

Thank you, Doctor Shah.

Thank you.

I know what you're thinking.

Here comes the salad.

And it is.

This is a salad and you're going great, heart health, I guess we have to eat salad.

But this isn't just any salad.

This is a salad that's going to make you feel so great.

It's so delicious, has so many ingredients and every ingredient has a job.

So let's get started because there's a lot to talk about.

This is vegan mayonnaise, so it doesn't have any saturated fat, which is good for your heart, but yet it has the texture, the flavor, the smell, everything you want from mayonnaise, so you're not losing anything and you're gaining everything.

Next goes in some Dijon mustard to give you some spice, some flavor.

Next, we're adding three spices: paprika, black pepper and chili flakes.

Right in.

That's going to spice things for you.

A little bit of salt.

You don't need a lot of salt here because you have all these other flavors happening.

Right.

We're going to start to mix those together and then we add lime juice.

If you don't have a lime, you can use lemons.

But lime is going to give us a slightly different, a little more acidic flavor, number one.

And number two is going to help you to digest the fat because there is fat in the vegan mayo.

It's also a little more interesting than lemon, don't you think?

Just sometimes you just want limes, something different.

You can use orange if you want your dressing to be sweeter.

And then you just mix us together until it's nice and creamy.

You don't need to whisk.

It's very easy.

It's done.

Now you're going to set this aside and let the flavors develop while you get your stuff ready for your salad.

So the first thing to go into the salad is baby arugula.

Baby arugula is a bitter green that helps the liver to do its job better of metabolizing and purifying your blood so you're a happier camper and you digest better.

The next thing to go in are ribbons of zucchini.

This is also a really pretty salad.

And zucchini is more than just the thing that takes over your garden.

It's loaded with moisture and fiber and vitamin C and is a very good thing to add to a salad to give you a little more interest.

The next thing to go in is carrot ribbons and carrot is fiber.

Good for digestion, gives you beta carotene for your eyes, adds beautiful color to this salad.

Remember that you eat with your eyes.

If a salad or any dish doesn't look good, nobody's going to eat it.

So, you have to make sure your food is pretty and is nicely served.

The next thing to go in are artichoke hearts.

These were frozen, but artichoke hearts are part of, obviously the artichoke, and give us amazing fiber, antioxidants--they are the most antioxidant rich of all veggies.

So this is the key to this salad.

Next go in cherry tomatoes.

I usually just cut mine in half.

You can quarter them if you prefer that texture, but I like the salad to be big and chunky and bold so that people want to eat it.

You don't have to tell them how good it is for their heart.

You don't.

Just..get the escapees.. just serve this delicious salad and tell them it's something a little bit different.

And the last ingredient is green cabbage.

Green cabbage is the greatest anti-inflammatory of all time.

So you want to use green cabbage whenever you can.

If you have outer leaves like this, they can be a little tough.

I save these for when I have a sore elbow or a bruise somewhere on the body.

I keep them in the fridge in a plastic bag.

So, we're going to take the cabbage, slice off a chunk of it and shred it really finely.

Right?

Because the cabbage is going to be raw.

So you don't want to cut big chunks because it's really hard to digest.

You want to shred it finely.

And I keep turning it so I don't have great big pieces, great big long ribbons so that it's nicer to eat.

And then I might run my knife along it again.

So there's not big long ribbons.

These go in.

And then to add a little more interest and maybe some freshness, we take some fresh herbs.

This is a combination of basil and parsley.

And basil and partially are both blood purifiers.

So they don't just taste really good, but they help your blood to flow better.

When your blood flow is better, you feel better.

Circulation is good, and there we are.

Now you're going to take your salad.

Take your nice creamy dressing.

Now you're thinking that's not a lot of dressing for such a big salad, but we don't need a big amount of dressing.

You just want dessing to coat the salad.

You don't want it to take it over.

Take some tongs to mix this.

Normally at home, I got to be honest--I use my hands.

I use my hands to mix the salad because they're my best tools.

They really let me know when the salad is coated because I get all the stuff up from the bottom with my little fingers.

But it looks nicer to do it with tongs.

Then once everything's coated with dressing, I usually move it to another bowl.

I know I always say that I'm lazy and I don't like to dirty things that I don't need to dirty, but I really don't like to serve salad in a bowl that I've mixed in because it just looks messy.

And so now you have not only heart healthy, but a very comforting and interesting salad to serve to your guests to keep them healthy, comforted, and just out of their minds with pleasure.

So what are you waiting for?

Let's get back to the cutting board and I'll see you next time.

On Christina Cooks, the Macroterranean Way.

Underwriting for Christina Cooks is provided by Suzanne's Specialties, offering a full line of alternative vegan and organic sweeteners and toppings.

Suzanne's Specialties, sweetness the way Mother Nature intended.

Jonathan's Spoons, individually handcrafted from cherry wood.

Each designed with your hand and purpose in mind.

Additional funding is also provided by.

You can find today's recipes and learn more by visiting our website at Christina Cooks.com and by following Christina on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

The companion cookbook, The Macroterranean Way, Volume Two combines the Mediterranean diet with the ancient wisdom of Chinese medicine, allowing us to understand how food affects us, so we can cook deliciously while creating the wellness we want.

To order your copy for $19.95 plus handling, call 800-266-5815.

Add Back to the Cutting Board and Christina's Iconic Glow, a prescription for radiant health and beauty and get all three books for $49.95, plus handling.

Call 800-266-5815.